COCKBURN CRESCENT, BOARD 1

Introduction

The purpose of this Pre Application Consultation event is to inform the community of the proposed development at Cockburn Crescent, Balerno before a formal planning application is submitted to City of Council.

Barratt David Wilson Homes have submitted a Proposal of Application Notice and Environmental Impact Assessment Screening Request to City of Edinburgh Council, both of which have since been approved, allowing for an application to be submitted.

The proposed application will help deliver an effective 5-year housing land supply as required by Scottish Planning Policy, which states that green field land will be released for housing development in accordance with a presumption in favour of sustainable development when Local Development Plans are out-of- Proposed Development Site date. The proposal site is approximately 12.5 Hectares of arable farmland on the This public consultation event is designed to encourage meaningful discussion southern edge of Balerno and is adjacent to existing modern housing on Cockburn between members of public and the design team in order for the proposed Crescent. development to reflect the communities’ opinions. The application is for approximately 280 homes (subject to detailed design), of As you may be aware Barratt David Wilson Homes previously submitted a which a quarter will be affordable, in compliance with City of Edinburgh Council planning application in 2013 which was subsequently refused by City of Edinburgh planning policy. The proposal will offer high quality homes that are sustainably Council perceived as being premature due to the stage of the Local Development built along with landscaped streets and open space. Plan at that time. An application is expected to be submitted in Autumn 2015 once detailed design Since the previous application in 2013 the housing land deficit has worsened as and analysis have been prepared. The design of the proposal can be influenced a result of delays to the Proposed LDP (submitted to Scottish Government May by today’s discussion and through comment submissions to Clarendon Planning 2015 but failing to allocate sufficient housing land). Proposed LDP sites have and Development. also been refused (Cammo, ), making the situation much worse than it was previously. In order to supply these much needed homes, unconstrained Please take the time to read the presentation boards and complete one of the sites must be brought forward for residential use in line with national policy. questionnaires provided. Members of the development team will be happy to Balerno can offer desperately needed homes for the Edinburgh housing market answer any questions you may have. in a sustainable location. COCKBURN CRESCENT, BALERNO BOARD 2

Proposed Local Development Plan (City of Edinburgh Council, Connectivity Plan Submitted to Scottish Government May 2015) Ensuring the site is well connected to existing and improved services / transport The plan shown below identifies the allocated housing sites in the Proposed is vital to the sustainability of the proposal. The plan below shows how the Local Development Plan. There are no allocations within Balerno, meaning the proposal would potentiallyConnectivity connect to the surrounding area. number of homes in Balerno would remain the same for a consecutive cycle of Travel Distances Rail Station the development plan (2006-2020) other than small-scale infil development. (from centre of Site) 4.5km

400m 1600m 5 min walk High School, 2 min cycle Rugby Club, National Cycle Route 75 800m 10 min walk 3 min cycle 1200m Village Centre; 1200m local shops, library, 15 min walk dentist, post office, 4 min cycle pharmacy, bank, nursery, bars/restaurant, 1600m sports clubs 20 min walk 5 min cycle

2.5km Primary School 8 min cycle & 500m Children's Health Centre 4.5km 15 min cycle Path Bus Network <400m Terminus <400m Based on average Harmeny School walking speed and Park beginner/12mph cycling speed City of Edinburgh Council LDP Action Programme (May 2015) Bus Route Service No.44 (regular 1/2hr service to city centre) The image shown below is the transport contribution zone for the Gillespie Threipmuir Cross Roads. The contribution zone includes Balerno, , , Reservoir and . Any development within the zone must provide a financial 2.5km contribution to transport improvements. The financial contribution is based on the number of homes proposed in order to effectively mitigate against the impact of additional vehicles. New traffic lights at the Gillespie Cross Roads will The historical expansion of Balerno mitigate against the additional traffic and improve the flow of vehicles in and out of Edinburgh. The plan below demonstrates how Balerno has changed over the past 100 years and has gradually extended south. Balerno has not been subject to major housing development for the last 15 - 20 years and has received a disproportionate amount of residential development compared to the rest of Edinburgh.

Education Capacity Site Aerials The proposal provides contributions to schools in the catchment area of Balerno namely, Dean Park Primary School and Balerno High School. Contributions to The proposed development site has a clear defensible boundary to the south education will be provided in order to fund future growth in schools. An education which prevents further development creep into the green belt. The tree belt appraisal will be submitted in conjunction with the planning application. also provides a noise and visual buffer to the existing power lines, enclosing the site within a new long-term defensible settlement boundary. COCKBURN CRESCENT, BALERNO BOARD 3

Affordable Homes New Application

The proposed development is for approximately 280 homes with a 25% provision This revised application has been prepared in response to the recent changes of affordable homes within the site. to Scottish Planning Policy, SESplan and NPF3, which have all been approved and altered since the decision of the previous application. National and strategic Affordable housing tenure types; policies now place a much greater emphasis on delivering housing than ever Social Rented before. Subsidised low cost housing Unsubsidised low cost housing Green Belt Mid-market or intermediate rented SESplan Policy 12 (Green Belts) sets out the key criteria to be achieved, being: The delivery of affordable housing is an integral aspect of sustainable places and is a material consideration when determining applications due to the presumption a. Maintain the identity and character of Edinburgh and Dunfermline and their in favour of sustainable development. neighbouring towns, and prevent coalescence, unless otherwise justified by the local development plan settlement strategy; Development Impact b. Direct planned growth to the most appropriate locations and support 75 Affordable Houses regeneration; 59 Primary School Children 42 Secondary School Children c. Maintain the landscape setting of these settlements; 112 Cars at peak travel times d. Provide opportunities for access to open space and the countryside. Contributions to City of Edinburgh Council / Local Community The proposed development is not considered to prejudice any of these green Link to National Cycle Route NCR75 belt objectives. Upgrade Gillespie Cross Roads Safer routes to school programme In response to the above policies; Improvement of bus services Bridge Road MOVA traffic light upgrade a. The proposed development does not present a risk to coalescence. There Extension to Hermiston Park and Ride are no surrounding towns to the south of Balerno. SESplan policy 7 allows for £per household for primary school contribution greenfield housing sites to be granted planning permission to maintain a five £per household for secondary school contribution years’ effective housing land supply subject to meeting the criteria of SESplan policy 12.

These developer contributions will off-set / mitigate against the impacts of b. The Local Development Plan has not identified Balerno as an area for planned the proposed development. The purpose of the contributions is to maintain, if growth but acknowledges a shortfall in housing land. To allow for an effective not improve the current infrastructure in the surrounding area. This financial supply of housing additional sites must be brought forward. contribution figure is yet to be finalised by City of Edinburgh Council and will be agreed during the formal application process. c. A full landscape visual impact assessment with new landscape proposals will be conducted and submitted to accompany the planning application. The site Housing Land Requirement Summary is considered to be well contained by the tree line south of the site with the proposal having limited impact on surrounding views. Housing requirement 2009-2019 = 24,530 Housing requirement 2019-2024 = 7,931 d. The surrounding area is predominantly farmed arable land which is not suitable for recreation or leisure. The proposal is considered to provide access to open Housing completions 2009-2014 = 7,721 space and natural countryside via footpaths through the centre of the site and around the site periphery. Remaining 2014-2019 requirement = 16,809 Current agreed supply 2014-19 = 10,048 Final Words

Shortfall 2014-2019 = 6,761 Barratt David Wilson Homes seek to create a proposal that encourages sustainable living, where a sense of community is maintained and new families are The need for additional housing land within the Edinburgh area in welcomed into Balerno, whilst making an effective contribution to Edinburgh’s the short, medium, and longer term is therefore substantial. 16,809 housing land supply shortfall. homes are required to be built in Edinburgh before 2019. Please leave feedback comments on the forms provided or: These figures are taken from the 2014 Edinburgh Housing Land Audit and SESplan Supplementary Guidance. By Post: Clarendon Planning & Development Ltd, 5a Castle Terrace, Edinburgh, EH1 2DP

By Email: [email protected]

Via Website: www.clarendonpd.co.uk

Please provide any responses by 11th August 2015

Please note that a formal period for comments will be made available by City of Edinburgh Council once the application has been submitted.